Shanghai (China),
4 July 2010 - Chinese actress Li Bingbing,
was designated, Sunday, as the first national
Goodwill Ambassador in China for the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
As Goodwill Ambassador,
Li Bingbing will help UNEP in its mission
to generate awareness and understanding
of environmental causes, as well as inspire
positive action.
The new Goodwill Ambassador
will help focus attention on some of the
biggest threats facing the planet, climate
change and environment.
Ms. Li has already demonstrated
personal environmental commitment through
her L.O.V.E Green movement which promotes
an environmentally-friendly, low-carbon
lifestyle among her fans in China. She has
also worked hard to mobilize the public
to lead greener lifestyles.
"I am honored to
have this opportunity to work with UNEP
on the environment. I am an environmentalist
in my personal life and I try to share this
passion with my fans and the wider public,"
she said.
"If we are really
going to protect the planet, we all need
to be accountable for our behaviour, to
realize that the natural resources that
have been so generously given to us are
limited and need protecting if they are
going to be shared by future generations,"
she added.
A graduate of the Shanghai
Drama Institute, Li Bingbing made her film
debut in 1999 with the movie, Seventeen
Years. In 2005, she starred in the romantic
comedy film Waiting Alone, which received
three Chinese Academy Award nominations,
including "Best Picture" and "Best
Actress".
Ms. Li has sought to
build on her work as a popular actress to
green the high-profile entertainment industry
in China. She is also a Goodwill Ambassador
of the Billion Forest Campaign by the Climate
Group in the Asia-Pacific region and last
year she was the Earth Hour Global Ambassador.
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General
and UNEP Executive Director said: "Li
Bingbing is our first Goodwill Ambassador
in China and UNEP is delighted to welcome
her on board. UNEP commends her personal
commitment to a greener lifestyle and her
passion to influence the public."
"As an actress,
she has the ability to reach out and influence
large numbers of people to change their
behavior and to realize that a sustainable
future depends on all of us working together,"
he added.
In her first act as
UNEP Goodwill Ambassador Li Bingbing , together
with Mr. Steiner, opened today UNEP's video
exhibition by fourteen leading international
artists at the UN Pavilion in the Shanghai
Expo. The installation, entitled the Nature
of Cities, was created by Art Works for
Change, and examines how cities must find
a balance with the natural world to exist
in a way that support both people and the
planet.
+ More
Report Launch 13 July
- Building the Economic Case for the Sound
Management of Nature-Based Assets
The Planet's natural
and nature-based assets - from individual
species to ecosystems such as forests, coral
reefs, freshwaters and soils - are declining
and degrading, in many cases at an alarming
rate. Multi-trillion dollars losses are
being sustained by the global economy year
in and year out undermining economies; business
prospects and opportunities to combat poverty.
The Economics of Ecosystems
and Biodiversity study (TEEB) is launching
a new TEEB for Business report on Monday,
12 July, in association with the Foreign
Press Association in London. The report
is launched ahead of the 1st Global Business
of Biodiversity Symposium being held in
London on 13 July.
The TEEB for Business
report builds the economic case to assist
economies make transformational policy choices
and changes in order to address this crisis
and bring greater intelligence to the way
nature-based assets are managed.
TEEB will publish a
final landmark synthesis report in advance
of the Convention on Biological Diversity's
meeting in Nagoya, Japan later in the year.
The Economics of Ecosystems
and Biodiversity (TEEB) study is a major
international initiative to draw attention
to the global economic benefits of biodiversity,
to highlight the growing costs of biodiversity
loss and ecosystem degradation, and to draw
together expertise from the fields of science,
economics and policy to enable practical
actions moving forward.
TEEB is funded by the
European Commission and governments including
Germany, Norway and the UK.
Press Information
Where: The Commonwealth
Club, 25 Northumberland Avenue, London WC2
When: 11.00am to noon
on Monday 12 July
Embargo: Press materials
are strictly embargoed for 0.01hrs BST 13
July 2010
Those Scheduled to attend:
Angela Cropper, Deputy
Executive Director of the UN Environment
Programme (UNEP) - the UN body which hosts
TEEB
Pavan Sukhdev, Study Leader for TEEB, UNEP
Josh Bishop, TEEB for
Business coordinator, IUCN
Jon Williams, Partner - Sustainability and
Climate Change at PricewaterhouseCoopers
Notes to Editors
Information on TEEB, a stream and theme
of UNEP's Green Economy Initiative, can
be found at www.teebweb.org
